Saturday, 10 October 2026

The Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) has issued a Proposed Notice of Sale for offshore oil and gas leases in Alaska's Cook Inlet, with the auction scheduled for March 2027, according to World Oil.

The sale would cover approximately 1.05 million acres, World Oil reported.

The proposed sale would offer 224 blocks in the northern Cook Inlet Planning Area, according to World Oil.

Proposed lease terms include a 12.5% royalty rate, World Oil reported.

SLB has commissioned a new liquid mud plant in Pemba, Mozambique, to prepare, store and deliver drilling and completion fluids for offshore oil and gas operations, according to World Oil.

The facility has an initial storage capacity of 21,000 bbl and is built to serve multiple customers as offshore activity increases in Mozambique, World Oil reported. The plant expands SLB's capacity to supply fluids for offshore drilling and completion work.

More than 100 jobs were created during construction and commissioning, with Mozambican nationals making up approximately 80% of the workforce, according to World Oil.

SLB reported more than 67,000 work hours without a recordable safety incident during delivery of the project.

With Tropical Storm Isaias tracking toward the US Gulf of Mexico, Shell and Chevron have started scaling back offshore work and relocating crews, drawing on company statements reported by Offshore Magazine.

Shell is clearing all staff and halting output at five of its assets, naming Mars, Olympus, Ursa, Vito and Appomattox, according to Offshore Magazine.

At Chevron, shut-in steps are under way across four operated platforms, with extra workers being flown back onshore, the publication reported.

By midweek, precautionary shut-ins had pulled roughly a quarter of the region's oil output offline, according to industry reports cited by Offshore Magazine, which added that natural gas supply saw a smaller reduction and that further operators, BP among them, were sending non-essential staff ashore.

Power LNG plans to build a liquefied natural gas facility on Pelican Island capable of producing about 400,000 gallons of LNG per day, according to Houston Public Media.

The plant could later expand to 800,000 gallons per day, Houston Public Media reported.

Production is expected to begin near the end of 2028, subject to required approvals and agreements.

Prediction-market contracts put the odds at 87% that the U.S. national average gasoline price will stay above USD 4 per gallon on Nov. 3, according to TokenPost, pointing to limited relief for drivers before the midterm elections.

The national average stood at USD 4.36 per gallon on Thursday, TokenPost reported.

Contracts assigned a 42% chance that prices would remain above USD 4.25 per gallon on Election Day, according to TokenPost, suggesting prices may ease from current levels while staying above USD 4.

Bangladesh and Türkiye held talks on cheaper electricity generation, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), with both sides weighing wider power-sector cooperation.

The two sides also took up heavy fuel oil (HFO) supplies as part of a push for lower-cost energy that Bangladesh wants to shore up its energy security.

Idle power plants were central to the talks. Bangladesh's energy minister said the country needs affordable and sustainable supply options to bring those stalled generation units back into service.

The Turkish delegation asked to meet ministry officials soon to lay out its proposals in detail, and the minister agreed to continue the talks on where the two countries might work together.

Elevated oil prices will hold until flows through the Strait of Hormuz are normalised, according to Jim Burkhard, Vice President and Head of Research for Oil Markets, Energy and Mobility at S&P Global.

Burkhard described the current price level as the new normal until shipments out of the strait return to usual patterns.

The strain is registering in Turkiye, where softer demand conditions slowed new orders further in September, according to fibre2fashion. Firms partly linked that uncertainty to the war in the Middle East, and the pace of moderation quickened slightly from August.

The Pacific Link oil pipeline, in which Pembina Pipeline holds a modest economic interest, was designated a Project of National Interest by federal authorities.

According to Kalkine Media, the designation gives the project a clearer and more predictable path through the federal review process, though it does not guarantee that the pipeline will ultimately be built.

Pembina Pipeline's current economic interest in Pacific Link does not carry development capital obligations before a final investment decision is made, meaning no immediate funding commitment is attached to the designation, Kalkine Media reported.

The Strait of Hormuz is no longer paralyzed, yet fuel prices remain painfully high, according to CNN. Gasoline averages $4.36 a gallon nationally, a record for this time of year, according to AAA data.

Shipping costs are a key driver. Hiring a Very Large Crude Carrier for the Persian Gulf-to-China route now costs $1.6 million per day, according to Clarksons.

The combination of higher tanker hire, elevated payments to sailors and surging insurance rates is making energy more expensive for consumers and businesses worldwide, according to CNN.

African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 will take place in Cape Town from October 12 to 16, according to Event Registry. More than 10,000 delegates are expected to attend.

The gathering brings together African governments, energy companies and international investors to discuss financing, partnerships and developments across the continent's energy sector, Event Registry reported.

Oil prices fell as rising crude exports and a planned emergency reserve release eased supply concerns. Brent crude futures dropped 0.65%, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.03%.

G7 countries agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves. The release is expected to add to West Asian crude exports, which rose above pre-war levels on four of the seven days in the final week of September, according to shipping data.

The looser supply picture comes against disrupted shipping flows. Crude moving through the Strait of Hormuz fell 27% in a week, to at least 10.1 million barrels a day, as tanker attacks picked up and Yemen's Houthis warned workers at a Saudi oil site.

The Mizoram government has called for modern technology, upgraded equipment and deeper technical expertise to restart its search for oil and natural gas, according to dy365live.

A new exploratory well is being planned in the state's Kolasib district, dy365live reported.

ONGC and OIL jointly presented plans to identify prospective areas for future Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bidding in Mizoram, officials said, according to Nagaland Post.

Mizoram official H Lianzela said a more promising exploration roadmap was taking shape through closer coordination among the Centre, oil companies and the state government, according to dy365live.

The LNG bunkering vessel KAGUYA has completed its 200th ship-to-ship LNG fuel supply operation in Japan, according to JERA Co., Inc. and JERA Global Energy Solutions Pte Ltd.

The milestone operation took place on September 30, 2026, when KAGUYA supplied LNG fuel to SWEET PEA LEADER, a car carrier operated by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), at Mikawa Port.

KAGUYA was the first LNG bunkering vessel to begin operations in Japan.

Brent crude futures reached USD 104.75 per barrel by 1205 GMT on Thursday, their highest level in more than a week, as attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz raised concerns about Middle Eastern supply and a hurricane cut US offshore output.

US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to USD 92.28 per barrel, its highest since October 2.

The price moves tracked an increase in attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, which intensified worries about supply from the Middle East, while a hurricane menaced US offshore production.

The storm shut in roughly 25.08% of current regional oil production and 16.37% of natural gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico, according to Investing.com.

PanAfrican Energy Tanzania (PAET) rejected the proposed Songo Songo licence extension terms, telling TPDC on October 9, 2026 that the commercial and fiscal terms are uneconomic and unacceptable, according to Orca Energy Group.

Despite the rejection, PAET said it is willing to keep operating the Songo Songo facilities under the existing licence and production sharing agreement framework to ensure gas continues to flow to customers for the 60-day statutory period, supporting an orderly transition of operations to TPDC and Songas Limited.

PAET intends to cease operating the Songo Songo facilities by November 29, 2026, or earlier if TPDC and Songas confirm operational readiness, per the Orca Energy Group update.

The update also noted that Tanzania's Fair Competition Commission issued a notice on October 5, 2026 prohibiting the merger application relating to Orca Energy Group's proposed transaction.

At least eight transportation-related companies sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, according to bankruptcy documents reviewed by FOX Business.

Marcus Overcast, owner of Truckload LLC, said diesel and insurance costs contributed to his company's bankruptcy filing, with insurance representing the biggest pressure, FOX Business reported.

Diesel was selling for about USD 6.26 per gallon on Thursday at a Flying J truck stop in Orange, Texas, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Diesel in North Carolina has averaged around USD 6 per gallon over the past two weeks, up from USD 3.48 a gallon a year earlier, according to AAA North Carolina. The jump is adding to the pressure on tobacco growers in the state.

Rising diesel costs, weather damage and weak tobacco prices are squeezing growers selling crops in Wilson's secondary markets. AAA North Carolina put the recent two-week average at about USD 6, compared with USD 3.48 per gallon the previous year.

The fuel strain tracks a broader crude market that has stayed elevated. Brent crude has held above USD 100 per barrel for most of the past month despite reports from tanker-tracking services and investment banks that crude flows from the Strait of Hormuz had recovered or exceeded pre-war levels, according to baystreet.ca.

With markets depleted of sizeable cushions to absorb new shocks, crude continues to price in an elevated war-risk premium, keeping Brent above USD 100 per barrel since early September, baystreet.ca reported.

Home heating oil prices in Ireland have continued to rise since the budget, even after the Government announced carbon tax relief of around EUR 43 per 1,000 litres this week, according to price comparison app cheapestoil.ie.

The price per 1,000 litres climbed from EUR 1,205 in July to EUR 1,660, based on figures cheapestoil.ie gathered from home heating oil suppliers nationwide.

In Cork, 500 litres cost EUR 803 the day before the budget was delivered and stood at EUR 809 afterward, according to the same data.

Cambodia spent USD 1.47 billion on diesel fuel from January through September 2026, according to Xinhua.

Thong Mengdavid, deputy director of the China-ASEAN Studies Centre at the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, attributed the higher fuel import costs to a mix of domestic and international factors. He cited rising industrial production, expanding transport and logistics networks, and heightened electricity demand as key drivers of the surge.

Renewed discussions over the cryogenic specifications of the jetty at the Vasilikos LNG import terminal in Cyprus are raising fresh questions about the project's priorities, costs and completion timeline, according to Cyprus Times.

The terminal remains unfinished after extended delays. A new tender for completing the LNG import terminal in the Vasilikos area, designated E.013-2026, was launched on July 30, 2026, according to Typos and Cyprus Times.

That tender carries an estimated value of EUR 180 million. The anticipated duration of the new contract is two years.